Washington: A Life by {author}: summary and why it matters

What it argues

Chernow presents Washington as an ambitious young Virginian who sought honor and a place in the colonial gentry, learned military lessons in the French and Indian War, and then became commander of the Continental Army. He describes the struggles of the war, with an army short of pay, food and supplies and a Congress with little power, and Washington's insistence on civilian control of the military.

The book follows him into the presidency, where he established the norms of the office, kept a balance between Hamilton and Jefferson, and kept the republic neutral in the European wars. His decision to step down after two terms is shown as a deliberate act of statesmanship.

Chernow does not look away from Washington's ownership of slaves, his struggles with his conscience and his provision in his will to free those he owned.

Why it matters

The book captures why Washington is regarded as indispensable, not for brilliance but for judgment, self-command and willingness to surrender power. Conservatives who revere the founding find in him a model of restraint. It is a good corrective to both hagiography and cynicism.

About the author

The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2011. Chernow drew on the multivolume edition of Washington's papers at the University of Virginia, and on the many letters that survive from his wartime and presidential years. He said he wished to show a Washington who was full of feeling and ambition and not the marble figure of the monuments.

Who should read it

Readers who want a full portrait. At more than 800 pages it is a commitment, but the prose is clear.